Grace–the One Way of Salvation
A sermon
(No. 765)
Delivered by
C.H.SPURGEON,
At the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington
"But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we
shall be saved, even as they." Acts 15:11.
You who are conversant with Scripture will recollect that these are the
words of the Apostle Peter. Paul and Barnabas had been preaching the
Gospel among the Gentiles with great success, but "certain of the sect
of the Pharisees which believed could not get rid of their old Jewish
bigotry and vehemently urged that the converted Gentiles ought to be
circumcised, or else they could not be saved. They made a great clamor
over this and there was no small dissension and disputation. The
children of the bondwoman mustered all their forces, while the
champions of glorious liberty arrayed themselves for the battle.
Paul and Barnabas, those valiant soldiers of the Cross, stood out
stoutly against the ritualistic Brothers and told them that the rite of
circumcision did not belong to the Gentiles at all, and ought not to be
forced upon them. They would not yield their free principles at the
dictation of the Judaizers, but scorned to bow their necks to the yoke
of bondage. It was agreed to bring the matter up for decision at
Jerusalem before the Apostles and Elders. And when all the Brothers had
assembled, there seems to have been a considerable dispute.
Finally, Peter, speaking with his usual boldness and clearness,
declared that it would be wrong to put a heavy yoke upon the necks of
the Gentiles which neither that generation of Jews nor their fathers
had been able to bear. And then he concluded his address by saying, in
effect, "Although these people are not circumcised, and ought not to
be, yet we believe that there is no difference between the Jew and the
Gentile, and by the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved,
even as they." Here Peter was not to be blamed, but to be greatly
commended, for he spoke under the influence of the Spirit of God.
I. We shall use the text as concisely as we can for three important
purposes. In the first place we shall look upon it AS AN APOSTOLIC
CONFESSION OF FAITH. You notice it begins with, "We believe." We will
call it, then, the "Apostle's Creed" and we may rest assured that it
has quite as clear a right to that title as that highly esteemed
composition which is commonly called the "Nicene, or Apostle's Creed."
Peter is speaking for the rest, and he says, "We believe." Well, Peter,
what do you believe? We are all attentive. Peter's answer is, "We
believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be
saved, even as they." There is a great deal of talk in our
day–foolish, vainglorious, idiotic, senseless talk, as we think, about
Apostolic succession. Some persons think they have the direct line from
the Apostles running right at their feet, and others believe that those
who make the greatest boast about it have the least claim to it.
There are clergymen who imagine that because they happen to be in a
Church which is in open alliance with the State, they must necessarily
be ministers of the Church of which Christ said, "My kingdom is not of
this world." Now we think that their union with the State, is, in
itself, a conclusive reply to all such claims to Apostolic succession!
And moreover, we remark many fatal points of difference between the
Apostles and their professed successors! Whenever did Peter or Paul
become State-paid ministers? In what State Church did they enroll
themselves?
What tithes did they receive? What rates did they levy? What laws did
they make upon the Jews and the Gentiles? Were they rectors or vicars?
Prebendary or deans? Canons or curates? Did they buy their livings in
the market? Did they sit in the Roman House of Lords dressed in lawn
sleeves? Were they styled Right Reverend Fathers in God? Were they
appointed by the Prime Minister of the day? Did they put on gowns and
read prayers out of a book? Did they christen children and call them
regenerate, and bury wicked reprobates in sure and certain hope of a
blessed resurrection?
As opposite as light is from darkness were those Apostles from the men
who pretend to be their Divinely-appointed successors! When will men
cease to thrust their arrogant pretences into our faces? Only when
common sense, to say noth-
ing of the religion of our country, shall have rebuked their
presumption! One thing is clear from this "Apostle's Creed" which we
have before us–it is clear that the Apostles did not believe in
ritualism! Peter–why, they make him out to be the head of the Church!
Do they not say that he was the first pope, and so on? I am sure if
Peter were here he would grow very angry with them for slandering him
so scandalously, for in his Epistle he expressly warned others against
being lords over God's heritage–and you may be sure he did not fall
into that sin himself!
When he is asked for his confession of faith, he stands up and declares
that he believes in salvation by Divine Grace alone. "We believe." O
bold Apostle, what do you believe? Now we still hear it–Peter will
say, "We believe in circumcision. We believe in regeneration by
baptism! We believe in the sacramental efficacy of the Lord's Supper!
We believe in pompous ceremonies! We believe in priests, and altars,
and robes, and rubrics!"
No! He does not utter a syllable concerning anything of the kind! He
says, "We believe that through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, we
who have been circumcised shall be saved just like those who have not
been circumcised. We believe that we shall be saved, even as they." He
makes very small account, it seems, of ceremonies in the matter of
salvation. He takes care that no idea of Sacramentarianism shall mar
his explicit confession of faith. He glories in no rite, and rests in
no ordinance. All his testimony is concerning the Grace of the Lord
Jesus Christ! He says nothing whatever about ordinances, ceremonies,
Apostolic gifts, or prelate unction–his theme is GRACE, and GRACE
alone!
And those, my Brothers, are the true successors of the Apostles who
teach you that you are to be saved through the unmerited favor and free
mercy of God, agreeing with Peter in their testimony, "We believe that
through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved." These
are the men who preach to you the Gospel of salvation through the blood
and righteousness of Jesus! But those pretended ministers who boast of
their priesthood preach another gospel, "which is not another, but
there are some that trouble you."
Upon their heads shall be the blood of deluded souls! They profess to
regenerate others but they will perish themselves! They talk of
sacramental grace, and shall receive eternal destruction! Woe unto
them, for they are deceivers and liars! May the Lord deliver this land
from their superstitions!
Another thing is very clear here. The Apostle did not believe in
self-righteousness. The creed of the world is, "Do your best and it
will be all right with you." To question this is treason against the
pride of human nature which evermore clings to salvation by its own
merits. Every man is born a Pharisee. Self-confidence is bred in the
bones–and will come out in the flesh. "What?" says a man, "Do you not
believe that if a man does his best, he will fare well in the next
world? Why, you know, we must all live as well as we can, every man
according to his own light. And if every man follows out his own
conscience as near as may be, surely it will be well with us?"
That is not what Peter said. Peter did not say, "We believe that
through doing our best we shall be saved like other people." He did not
even say, "We believe that if we act according to our light God will
accept that little light for what it was." No, the Apostle strikes out
quite another track and solemnly affirms, "We believe that through the
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved." NOT through our good
works! NOT through anything that we do! NOT by the merit of anything
which we feel or perform, or promise to perform, but by GRACE–that is
to say–by the free favor of
God–
"Perish each thought of human pride, Let God alone be magnified."
We believe that if we are ever saved at all, we must be saved
gratis–saved as the gratuitous act of a bountiful God– saved by a
gift, not by wages–saved by God's love, not by our own doings or
merits. This is the Apostle's creed– salvation is all of Divine Grace
from first to last and the channel of that Grace is the Lord Jesus
Christ who loved, and lived, and died, and rose again for our
salvation! Those who preach mere morality, or set up any way except
that of trusting in the Grace of God through Christ Jesus preach
another gospel, and they shall be accursed, even though they preach it
with an angel's eloquence!
In the day when the Lord shall come to discern between the righteous
and the wicked, their work, as wood, hay, and stubble shall be burnt.
And those who preach salvation by Grace through Jesus Christ shall find
that their work, like gold, and silver, and precious stones shall
survive the fire and great shall be their reward!
I think it is very clear, again, from the text, that the Apostles did
not believe in salvation by the natural force of free will. I fail to
detect a trace of the glorification of free will here. Peter puts it,
"We believe that we shall be saved."
Through what? Through our own unbiased will? Through the volitions of
our own well-balanced nature? Not at all, Sir–but, "we believe that
through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved."
He takes the crown from off the head of man in all respects and gives
all glory to the Grace of God! He extols God, the gracious Sovereign,
who will have mercy upon whom He will have mercy and who will have
compassion upon whom He will have compassion. I wish I had a voice of
thunder to proclaim in every street of London this glorious doctrine,
"By GRACE are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it
is the GIFT of God: not of works, lest any man should boast." This is
the old Reformation doctrine. This is the doctrine which will shake the
very gates of Hell if it is but faithfully preached!
for an army of witnesses to publish abroad the Gospel of Grace in its
Sovereignty, Omnipotence, and fullness. If you are ever to get comfort,
believe me, dear Hearer, you must receive the Doctrine of Salvation by
free grace into your soul as the delight and solace of your heart, for
it is the living Truth of the living God. Not by ritualism, not by good
works, not by our own unaided free will are we saved, but by the Grace
of God alone!–
"Not for the works which we have done, Or shall hereafter do, Has God
decreed on sinful worms Salvation to bestow. The glory, Lord, from
first to last, Is due to You alone: Aught to ourselves we dare not
take, Or rob You of Your crown."
Were I now to take this Apostle's creed to pieces, and look closely at
the details of it, it would be easy to show that this creed contains
within it many important Truths of God. It implies, most evidently, the
doctrine of human ruin. "We believe that we shall be saved." That
statement assuredly implies that we need to be saved. The Apostle
Peter, as well as his brother Apostle, Paul, was sound in the faith
concerning the total depravity of human nature. He viewed man as a lost
creature, needing to be saved by Divine Grace.
He believed in those three great "Rs" which Rowland Hill used to talk
about–Ruin, Redemption, and Regeneration. He saw most clearly man's
ruin, or he would not have been so explicit upon man's salvation. If
Peter were here to preach tonight, he would not tell us that man,
though he is a little fallen, is still a noble creature–who needs only
a little assistance and he will be quite able to right himself. Oh, the
fearful flattery which has been heard from some pulpits! Anointing
corruption with the unction of hypocrisy! Besmearing the abomination of
our depravity with sickening eulogies!
Peter would give no countenance to such false prophets! No, he would
faithfully testify that man is dead in sin, and life's a gift–that man
is lost–utterly fallen and undone. He speaks in his Epistles of the
former lusts of our ignorance, of our vain conversation received by
tradition of our fathers, and of the corruption which is in the world
through lust. In the verse before us he tells us that the best of men,
men such as himself and the other Apostles, had need to be saved, and,
consequently, they must have been originally among the lost–heirs of
wrath even as others.
1 am sure that he was a firm Believer in what are called "the Doctrines
of Grace," as he was certainly in his own person an illustrious trophy
and everlasting monument of Divine Grace. What a ring there is in that
word GRACE! Why, it does one good to speak it and to hear it! It is,
indeed, "a charming sound, harmonious to the ear." When one feels the
power of it, it is enough to make the soul leap out of the body for
joy–
"Grace! How good, how cheap, how free,
Grace, how easy to be found!
Only let your misery
In the Savior's blood be drowned!" How it suits a sinner! How it cheers
a poor forlorn wanderer from God! Grace! Peter was not in a fog about
this– his witness is clear as crystal–decisive as the sentence of a
judge. He believed that salvation was of God's free favor, and God's
almighty power. And he speaks out like a man, "We believe that we are
saved by grace." Our Apostle was also most decided and explicit
concerning the Atonement. Cannot you see the Atonement in the text,
sparkling like a jewel in a well-made ring? We are saved "through the
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ."
What does the Apostle mean but the Grace which came streaming from
those five wounds when the Savior hung on the Cross? What does he mean
but the Grace which is revealed to us in the bleeding Sufferer who took
our sins and carried our sorrows that we might be delivered from wrath
through Him? O that everyone were as clear about the Atonement as Peter
is! Peter had seen his Master–no, more–his Master had looked at him
and broken his heart, and afterwards bound it up, and given him much
Grace! And now Peter is not content with saying, "We believe that we
shall be saved through grace," but he is careful to word it, "We
believe that we shall be saved through the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ."
Dear Hearers, never have any questions upon the vital point of
redemption by blood. This is a fundamental Truth of God! He who is in
darkness upon this subject has no light in him. What the sun is to the
heavens, the doctrine of a vicarious satisfaction is to theology!
Atonement is the brain and spinal cord of Christianity! Take away the
cleansing blood and what is left to the guilty? Deny the
substitutionary work of Jesus and you have denied all that is precious
in the New Testament. Never, never let us endure one wavering, doubtful
thought upon this all-important Truth of God!
It seems to me, too, that without straining the text I might easily
prove that Peter believed in the doctrine of the Final Perseverance of
the Saints. They were not, in a certain sense, it seems, perfectly
saved when he spoke. And he says, "We believe we shall be saved." Well,
but Peter, may you not fall away and perish? "No," he says, "we believe
that through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved." How
positively he speaks of it! I do wish you, dear Friends, to get a firm
and intelligent hold of the doctrine of the safety of the Believer
which is as clear as noonday in the Scriptures.
Upon the whole you have learned it to purpose, and can defend it well,
but all of you should be able to give a reason for the hope that is in
you. I have known one of our people met by those who do not believe
this doctrine, and they have said to him, "You will fall away! Look at
your own weakness and tendency to sin." "No," said the man, "I know I
should if I were left to myself, but then Christ has promised that He
will never leave me nor forsake me."
Then it is sometimes said, "but you may be a Believer in Christ today,
and yet perish tomorrow." But our friends generally reply, " Do not
tell us that falsehood! God's saints shall never perish, neither shall
any pluck them out of Jesus' hand! As for your doctrine of the final
falling of the Lord's blood-bought ones, if that is the gospel, go and
keep it to yourselves. As for us, we would not go two inches to listen
to it–there is nothing in it to lay hold of–it is a bone without
marrow. There is no strength, no comfort for the soul in it."
If I know when I trust Christ that He will save me at the last, then I
have something to rest upon, something worth living for! But if it is
all a mere "if," or "but," or "maybe," or "perhaps"–a little of myself
and a little of Christ–I am in a poor case, indeed. A Gospel which
proclaims an uncertain salvation is a miserable imposition. Away with
such a Gospel! Away with such a Gospel! It is a dishonor to Christ! It
is a discredit to God's people! It neither came from the Scriptures of
Truth, nor does it bring glory to God.
Thus, have I tried to open up the Apostle's creed, "We believe that
through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as
they."
II. And now, having used the text as the Apostle's confession of faith,
I shall take it as THE CONVERTED MORAL MAN'S STATEMENT. Let me show you
what I mean. Observe and admire the way in which Peter puts the case. A
company of Jews has assembled to discuss a certain matter and some of
them look very wise. They bring up certain suggestions that are rather
significant.
They say, "Well, perhaps these Gentile dogs may be saved. Yes, Jesus
Christ told us to go and preach the Gospel to every creature,
therefore, no doubt He must have included these Gentile dogs. We do not
like them, though, and must keep them as much under our rules and
regulations as we can. We must compel them to be circumcised. We must
have them brought under the full rigor of the Law. We cannot excuse
them from wearing the yoke of bondage."
Presently, the Apostle Peter gets up to speak and you expect to hear
him say–do you not?–to these gentlemen, "Why, these 'Gentile dogs,'
as you call them, can be saved, even as you!" No. He adopts quite a
different tone. He turns the tables and he says to them, "We believe
that you may be saved, even as they." It were just as if I should have
a company of persons here, now, who had been very bad and wicked. Who
had plunged into the deepest sin. But God's Grace has met with them and
made them new creatures in Christ Jesus.
There is a Church meeting and when these persons are brought before the
Church, suppose there were some of the members who should say, "Yes, we
believe that a drunkard may be saved, and a person who has been a
harlot may, perhaps, be saved, too." But imagine, now, that I were to
stand up and reply, "Now, my dear Brothers and Sisters, I believe that
you may be saved even as these." What a rebuke it would be! This is
precisely what Peter meant. "Oh," he said, "do not raise the question
about whether they can be saved–the question is whether you, who have
raised such a question, will be saved!" "We believe that through the
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they." So he
seems, in this dispute, to take the objectors aback and to put the
Gentile Believers in order, to cast out the bad, proud, wicked,
devilish spirit of self-righteousness.
Now, Brethren, some of us were favored by Providence with the great
privilege of having Christian parents and consequently we never did
know a great deal of the open sin into which others have fallen. Some
of us never were inside a theater in our lives, never saw a play, and
do not know what it is like. There are some here who, perhaps, never
did frequent the tavern, do not know a lascivious song and never
uttered an oath. This is cause for great thankfulness, very great
thankfulness, indeed! But, O you excellent moralists, mind you do not
say in your heart, "We are quite sure to be saved," for, let me tell
you, you have not before God any advantage over the outward
transgressor so as to entitle you to be saved in a less humbling
manner!
If you are ever saved you will have to be saved in the same way as
those who have been permitted to plunge into the most outrageous sin!
Your being restrained from overt offenses is a favor for you to be
grateful, but not a virtue for you to trust in. Ascribe it to God's
Providential goodness, but do not wrap it about you as though it were
to be your wedding garment, for if you do, your self-righteousness will
be more dangerous to you than some men's open sins are to them. Do you
not know how the Savior put it, "Verily I say unto you that the
publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you!" You
moral people must be saved by the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ–saved
even as they, the outcasts, the wanderers.
You will not, you cannot be saved in any other way, and will not be
saved at all if you do not submit to this way. You will not be
permitted to enter Heaven, good as you think yourselves to be, unless
you come down to the terms and conditions which Sovereign Grace has
laid down, namely, that you should trust Christ and be saved by Divine
Grace, "even as they." To prove to you, dear Friends, that this must be
the case, I will suppose that you have picked out 20 people who have
been good, in a moral sense, from their youth up.
Now, these people must be saved just the same as those other 20 over
yonder, who have been as bad as bad can be from their earliest
childhood, and I will tell you why–because these amiable persons fell
in Adam just as surely as the outcasts did! They are as fully partakers
of the curse of the Fall as the profane and drunk. And they were born
in sin and shaped in iniquity just as the dissolute and the dishonest
were. There is no difference in the blood of humanity–it flows from
one polluted source and is tainted in all its channels. The depravity
of human nature does not belong merely to those who are born in dirty
back courts and alleys, but it is as certainly manifest in those of you
who were born in the best parts of the city.
You dwellers in Belgravia are as altogether born in sin as the denizens
of Bethnal Green. The West End is as sensual as the east. Hyde Park has
no natural superiority of nature over Seven Dials. The corruption of
those born in the castle at Windsor is as deep as the depravity of
workhouse children. You, Ladies and Gentlemen, are born with hearts as
bad and as black as the poorest of the poor! You sons of Christian
parents, do not imagine, because you spring of a godly ancestry, that
therefore your nature is not polluted like the nature of others! In
this respect, we are all alike! We are born in sin, and alike are we
dead by nature in trespasses and sins, heirs of wrath, even as others.
Remember, too, that although you may not have sinned openly, as others
have done, yet in your hearts you have– and it is by your hearts that
you will be judged. For how often a man may commit adultery in his soul
and incur the guilt of theft while his hands lay idly by his side! Do
you not know that a look may have in it the essence of an unclean act,
and that a thought may commit murder as well as a hand? God takes note
of heart sin as well as hand sin.
If you have been outwardly moral, I am thankful for it, and I ask you
to be thankful for it, too. But do not trust in it for justification,
seeing that you must be saved, even as the worst of criminals are
saved, because in heart, if not in life, you have been as bad as they.
Moreover the method of pardon is the same in all cases. If you
moralists are to be washed, where must you find the purifying bath? I
never heard of but one Fountain–that–
"Fountain filled with blood,
Drawn from Immanuel's veins." That fountain is for the dying thief as
much as for you, and for you as much as for him. There is a robe of
righteousness that is to cover the best living among professors–that
same robe of righteousness covered Saul of Tarsus, the bloody
persecutor. If you, of unspotted outward character, are ever to have a
robe of righteousness you must wear the same one as he wore. There
cannot be another nor a better. O you who are conscious of outward
innocence, do, do, humble yourselves at the foot of the Cross and come
to Jesus just as empty-handed, just as broken-hearted as if you had
been outwardly among the vilest of the vile! And through the Grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ you shall be saved, even as they! O may the Holy
Spirit bring you to this!
I do not know whether anybody here has ever fallen into such an unwise
thought as I have known some entertain. I met with a case of this sort
only the other day. A very excellent and amiable young woman, when
converted to God, said to me, "You know, Sir, I used almost to wish
that I was one of those very bad sinners whom you so often speak to,
and invited to come to Jesus, because I thought then I should feel my
need more. That was my difficulty, I could not feel my need." But see,
dear Friends, we believe that through the Grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, we who have not plunged into black sin shall be saved even as
they who have done so!
Do not make a difficulty about this. Others make a difficulty on the
opposite side. They say, "Oh, I could trust Christ if I had been kept
from sin." The fact is that you unbelieving souls will not trust Christ
whichever way you have lived, for from some quarter or other you will
find cause for your doubts. But when the Lord the Spirit gives you
faith, you big sinners will trust Christ quite as readily as those who
have not been great offenders openly. And you who have been preserved
from open sin will trust Him as joyfully as the great transgressors!
O come, come, come, you sick souls! Come to my Master! Do not say, "We
would come if we were worse." Do not say, "We would come if we were
better." But come as you are! Come just as you are! Oh, if you are a
sinner, Christ invites you! If you are but lost, remember Christ came
to save the lost! Do not be picking out your case and making it to be
different from others, but come, and welcome! Weary and heavy laden
Sinner, come and welcome! Come, even now!–
"Just as you are, without one trace
Of love, or joy, or inward Grace,
Or meetness for the heavenly place,
O guilty Sinner, come!
Come, here bring your boding fears,
Your aching heart, your bursting tears.
'Tis Mercy's voice salutes your ears,
O trembling Sinner, come.
The Spirit and the
Bride say, 'Come.'
Rejoicing saints re-echo, 'Come.'
Who faints, who thirsts, who will, may come–
Your Savior bids you come."
III. The text would not be fairly treated if I did not use it as THE
CONFESSION OF THE GREAT OUTWARD SINNER WHEN CONVERTED. I will now speak
to those here present who, before conversion, indulged in gross sins.
Such are here. Glory be to God such are here! They have been washed!
They have been cleansed! My dear Brothers and Sisters, I can rejoice
over you! More precious are you, by far, in my eyes than all the
precious gems which kings delight to wear, for you are my eternal joy
and crown of rejoicing! You have experienced a Divine change! You are
not what you once were! You are new creatures in Christ Jesus!
Now, I will speak for you. "We believe that through the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they." What do we mean?
Why, we believe that we shall be saved even as the best are saved! I
will split that thought up, as it were, into individual instances.
Yonder sits a very poor Believer. We are very glad to see him at the
Tabernacle. I know he had a thought that his clothes were hardly good
enough to come in, but I hope none of you will ever stay away because
of your clothes. Come, come anyhow!
We are always glad to see you! At least, I am, if others are not. But
my poor Friend is very badly off, indeed. He would not like anybody,
perhaps, to see the room where he lives. Yes, but my dear Brother, do
you expect to have a poor man's salvation? Do you expect that when you
get to Heaven, you will be placed in a corner as a pauper pensioner? Do
you think that Jesus Christ will only give you the crumbs which fall
from off His table? "Oh, no!" I think I hear you say, "Oh, no! We shall
leave our poverty when we get to Glory."
Some of our friends are rich. They have an abundance of this world's
goods and we rejoice to think they have, and hope that they will have
Grace to make a proper use of this mercy. But we poor people believe
that we shall be saved, even as they! We do not believe that our
poverty will make any difference to our share in Divine Grace, but that
we shall be as much loved of God as they are, as much blessed in our
poverty as they are in their riches, and as much enabled by Divine
Grace to glorify God in our sphere as they are in theirs.
We do not envy them, but on the contrary, ask Grace from God that we
may feel that if we are poor in pocket, yet we are rich in faith, and
shall be saved even as they. Others of you are not so much poor in
money as you are poor in useful talent. You come up to Chapel and fill
your seat, and that is about all you can do. You drop your weekly
offering into the box and when that is done, you have done all, or
nearly all in your power. You cannot preach. You could not conduct a
Prayer Meeting. You have hardly courage enough to give away a tract.
Well, my dear Friend, you are one of the timid ones, one of the little
Benjamins of whom there are many. Now, do you expect that the Lord
Jesus Christ will give you a second-hand robe to wear at His wedding
feast? And when you sit at the banquet, do you think He will serve you
from cold and inferior dishes? "Oh, no!" you say. "Oh, no! Some of our
Brethren have great talents, and we are glad that they have. We rejoice
in their talents, but we believe that we shall be saved even as they.
We do not think that there will be any difference made in the Divine
distribution of loving kindness because of our degree of ability."
There are very proper distinctions here on earth between rich and poor,
and between those who are learned and those who are unlearned. But we
believe that there is no distinction in the matter of salvation–we
shall be saved even as they. Many of you would preach 10 times better
than I do if you could only get your tongues unloosed to say what you
feel. Oh, what red-hot sermons you would preach, and how earnest you
would be in their delivery! Now, that sermon which you did not preach,
and could not preach shall not be set down to your account, while
perhaps that discourse of mine will be a failure because I may not have
preached it as I should have done–with pure motives and zealous
spirit.
God knows what you would do if you could, and he judges not so much
according to what you do, as according to your will to do it. He takes
in this case the will for the deed, and you shall be saved, even as
they who with the tongue of fire proclaim the Truths of God. Most
likely there is some doubting Brother here. Whenever he opens "Our Own
Hymn Book," he very seldom looks to "The Golden Book of Communion," but
he generally turns to hymn No. 590, or thereabouts, and begins to sing
"Contrite Cries."
Well, my dear Friend, you are a weakling. You are Mr. Much-Afraid, or
Mr. Little-Faith. But how is your heart? What are your prospects? Do
you believe that you will be put off with a second-rate salvation? That
you will be admitted by the back door into Heaven instead of through
the gate of pearl? "Oh no!" you say. "I am the weakest lamb in Jesus'
fold, but I believe that I shall be saved even as they. That is, even
as they who are the strongest in Grace, most useful in labor, and most
mighty in faith."
In a few hours, dear Friends, I shall be crossing the sea, and I will
suppose that there shall be a good stiff wind and that the vessel may
be driven out of her course and be in danger. As I walk the deck I see
a poor girl on board. She is very weak and ill, quite a contrast to
that fine strong burly passenger who is standing beside her, apparently
enjoying the salt spray and the rough wind.
Now suppose a storm should come on, which of these two is the more
safe? Well, I cannot see any difference, because if the ship goes to
the bottom they will both go. And if the ship gets to the other side of
the channel, they will both land in security. The safety is equal when
the thing upon which it depends is the same. So, if the weakest
Christian is in the boat of salvation–that is, if he trusts Christ–he
is as safe as the strongest Christian, because, if Christ failed the
weak one, He would fail the strong one, too. Why, if the least
Christian who believes in Jesus does not get to Heaven, then Peter
himself will not get to Heaven! I am sure of it, that if the smallest
star which Christ ever kindled does not blaze in eternity, neither will
the brightest star.
If you who have given yourselves to Jesus should any of you be cast
away, this would prove that Jesus is not able to save–and then all of
us must be cast away, too. Oh, yes! "We believe that we shall be saved,
even as they." I am nearly done, but I will suppose for a moment that
there has been a work of Grace in a prison–Cold Bath Fields, if you
like. There are half-a-dozen villains there, thorough villains. But the
Grace of God has made new men of them. I think I see them. And if they
understood the text, as they looked across the room, and saw half a
dozen Apostles–Peter, James, John, Matthew, Paul, Bartholomew, and so
on–they might say, "We believe that through the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they, even as those Apostles
are."
Can you catch the idea, and make it your own? When artists have drawn
pictures of the Apostles, they have often put a halo round their heads,
very much like a brass pan, or something of that kind–as if to signify
that they were some particular and special saints. But there was no
such halo there–the painter is far from the fact! We say it, and say
it seriously and thoughtfully, that 12 souls picked from the scum of
creation who look to Christ shall be saved, even as the 12 Apostles are
saved! Halo or no halo–they shall join in the same hallelujah to God
and the Lamb!
I will select three holy women–they shall be the three Marys that we
read about in the Evangelists–the three Marys whom Jesus loved, and
who loved Jesus. These holy women, we believe, will be saved. But I
will suppose that I go to one of our Refuges and there are three girls
there who were once of evil fame. The Grace of God has met with them
and they are now three weeping Magdalenes, penitent for sin. These
three might say, humbly, but positively, "We believe that through the
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ we three reclaimed harlots shall be
saved, even as they–the three holy matrons who lived near Christ and
were His delight." "Ah, well!" says one, "this is Divine Grace, indeed!
This is plain speech and wonderful doctrine, that God should make no
distinction between one sinner and another when we come to Him through
Christ."
Dear Hearer, if you have understood this very simple statement, go to
Jesus at once with your soul, and may God enable you to obtain complete
salvation at this hour! I pray you to come in faith to the Cross–I
pray my Master's Grace to compel you to enter into a state of full
dependence upon Jesus, and so into a state of salvation. If you are now
led to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, no matter how black the past
may have been, "the blood of Jesus Christ, God's dear Son, cleanses us
from all sin."–
Here's pardon for transgressions past, It matters not how black their
cast. And oh, my Soul, with wonder view, For sins to come, here's
pardon, too."
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Believing To See No.
A sermon